Maritime Security

Mapping the oceans is the new front in the battle for influence in the Indian Ocean
Mapping the oceans is the new front in the battle for influence in the Indian Ocean
Hydrography, the mapping of bodies of water and surrounding coastal details, is the new front in the battle for influence in the Indian Ocean. There is growing competition among…
Should Japan expand its security partnerships in the Pacific?
Should Japan expand its security partnerships in the Pacific?
This month, Japan hosted defence and security officials from 14 Pacific Island countries and Western allies for the 2nd Japan Pacific Islands Defence Dialogue. The multilateral…
Non-state actors and the phantom of asymmetry
Non-state actors and the phantom of asymmetry
The sunny days of free-riding are receding. In some form or another, most countries have leeched off American power for the last three decades. The preponderance of US military…
A practical way for Australia to help in the western Indian Ocean
A practical way for Australia to help in the western Indian Ocean
Australia’s view of the Indo-Pacific generally stops at Sri Lanka and the southern tip of India. But this regional conceptualisation leaves out the western region of the Indian…
Why big projects fail: Climate change and AUKUS submarines
Why big projects fail: Climate change and AUKUS submarines
Book review: How Big Things Get Done by Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner (Penguin Random House, 2023) We don’t need to look at detailed statistics to know that large-scale…
Japan’s new golden age in Southeast Asia
Japan’s new golden age in Southeast Asia
During his keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore last year, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced a momentous shift in his country’s post-war foreign…
Australia needs to resource a merchant fleet
Australia needs to resource a merchant fleet
On Friday, DP World Australia, the company operating container terminals at four of Australia’s largest ports, was brought to its knees by a cyber-attack. The impact on the flow…
AUKUS: A debate after the fact is still worth having
AUKUS: A debate after the fact is still worth having
Book review: The Echidna Strategy: Australia's Search for Power and Peace (La Trobe University Press, 2023) When Robert Menzies announced his retirement in January 1966,…
ASEAN’s first joint military exercise
ASEAN’s first joint military exercise
The first Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) joint military exercise, code-named ASEAN Solidarity Exercise 2023 (ASEX 2023), has just ended. Hosted by Indonesia from…
Sea robbery in the Singapore Strait
Sea robbery in the Singapore Strait
Since the beginning of 2023, sea robbery in the Singapore Strait has increased at an alarming rate. The 113-km long, 19-km wide strait that connects the Indian Ocean with the…